Relationship Reflection

My boyfriend, Shawn and I have been together for almost 6 years.  He is wonderful and supports me in everything I do.  When I wanted to go back to school for my Master's, he was the one encouraging me to do it the most because he knew how badly I wanted to and how much I enjoy working with young children.  We have grown up since we first started dating and through multiple deployments we have learned how to be strong, independent people while gaining important communication skills along the way that has enhanced our entire relationship.  Deployments also taught us what really matters and counts in life and we actually count that as a blessing that we learned through these deployments. We have just recently started to travel and it has really forced me to go outside of my comfort zone and learn about the world around me and I love him for that.  He is my companion through all things in my life.

My family has always supported me 100% in everything I do.  My dad and I were very close when I was young and my mom is still one of my best friends.  They have both taught me the value of hard work and that is why I'm where I'm at today in my career.  My brother and I have always been close and since growing up and moving out of our parent's house, we still maintain that closeness and we actually both work for MWR through the Army at our local military installation.  My family has always been big fans of sporting events and I really think there are values to be learned through sport competitions.  The biggest two are teamwork and respect and I've applied those to my career working with children.  The picture below was taken before our first Packers game at Lambeau Field....what an awesome experience!!!

My sister and I have grown closer and closer as I grow older.  She is six years older and moved about 8 hours away when I was young, but with cell phones and skype, we are able to communicate on a regular basis.  She has 3 beautiful girls and I love to spend time with them when I can!!  She is a wonderful mom and still works full-time and I strive to be like her someday when I have my own children.  I have seen through her that you can have a balance of a career you love and still be dedicated to your children and husband.

The three ladies below are my girlfriends from college and we have still remained close even after graduation.  It is harder now that we are all so busy, but we all email and facebook regularly.  We may actually get all 4 of us together on the same day in a few weeks....a rare feat!!  Two of the three are education majors and teachers as well and those same two gals are working on their Master's right now too.  Anytime I have education related questions, these are the girls I go to.  We have also supported each other through weddings, births, and other not so pleasant experiences.

The last relationship that I cherish is the one with my best friend, Leann.  We've known each other since grade school and went through middle school and high school together.  We went to different colleges, but could always pick up right where we left off whenever we saw each other.  Our families are close too and I don't know what I would do without her in my life.  She is my support system when things go wrong and she cheers me on through everything.  She went on vacation with my boyfriend and I in January and we made so many more wonderful memories!  It was awesome to have that experience with her.